Semper Fidelis, Naruto
by VoltActionSniper
Summary: A Marine Sniper become's Naruto's Mentor. pairing undecided. suggestions and questions welcome! as always R
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything that is subject to copywright** Chapter One Enter Jack Vendi "Lying face up on the floor of my vessel, I marvel at the stars and drift into the unknown" 

---Incubus

Jack Vendi sat perfectly still in a position over looking the city of Baghdad. His breathing focused and controlled. His eyes were focused on what looked to be an Iraqi civilian wit something in his pocket. He watched the man slowly make his way towards the roadblock. The unsuspecting Marines were to busy checking the cars to take notice of a man walking up behind them in civilian clothes with a kid latched to his leg. Master Gunnery Sergeant Jack Vendi's job was simple, make sure no one with a gun got close to his fellow Marines. Simple enough, if every Iraqi insurgent liked to walk around with an Ak47 in the air and screaming Allah like the movies.

There were several things suspicious about the man with a kid on his leg and a hand in his pocket. For one, he hadn't said a word to the kid in the five minutes Jack had been observing him; the kid was probably just a shield to stop the Marines from unloading into the guy. It was unlikely he was a suicide bomber, the way his shoulders were scrunched up and held forward said he was probably getting ready to run, or get into a fire fight. Most suicide bombers had a relaxed expression, why worry if you're about to die right? The way the Iraqi had his hand in his pocket was very telling, his elbow was bent towards his back, like he was ready to whip something out at any moment. He watched him walk towards the Marines slowly increasing his pace, until he was running at them, Jack would have fired, but the Geneva conventions were to fresh in his mind.

"Don't shoot, until you see a gun" he repeated to himself quietly.

It happened in an instant, the Iraqi pulled up the kid to chest level and whipped out an Ingram MAC 10, the marines turned to look at the man with the gun, but Jack had been ready the moment he saw the look on the mans eye's and already had his scope dialed in to account for wind, temperature, humidity, and even the curve of the earth. Jack fired and watched as the force of the bullet caused the man's body to visibly quake to the ground. Jack grinned and got on the radio to the Marines at the roadblock.

"Guardian Angel to block 45, do you copy?"

"Block 45 here, that was one hell of a shot. Guardian Angel."

"Copy that, when am I relieved?"

"Depends guardian angel, can all snipers pull shit off like that?"

"You bet your ass we can. Block 45"

"Good cause we just got your relief in now, head in as soon as you see him"

"Copy that block 45 I'm out"

"Over and out"

Jack started bagging up his rifle and pack, and when the other sniper had arrived he was ready to go, his gillie was wrapped up and on top of his pack, and his canteen and such had been strapped to his back.

He greeted the other sniper with a smile and said,

"How are you max?"

"Right about now I'm wishing I could see some action, the shot you pulled off is all the fuckers at the block are going to talk about for the month."

"Yeah, see you at the tent, bro."

"Yeah, bye Jack"

Jack walked down the small inclined dune and south, to wear the "tent city" was located.

When jack saw something out of place, a crow. He followed the crow's flight path directly over his head, and when he looked down again in confusion at seeing a crow. He was quite simply floored; he was in a forest.

It was obvious his situation had changed, somehow, how it happened wasn't important right now though, how to survive what happened was another story.

Jack wasn't sure what was going on but he wasn't about to be caught unprepared.

He dug through his pack until he found at the bottom his jungle cammies, and his gillie net.

He put on his jungle camo and paint almost immediately.

For about an hour gathered lush bushes and some of what looked like Spanish moss.

He then began to weave all the plants and burlap in with the moss acting as a filer.

After about three or four hours he had a gillie suit much better suited for the jungle.

He then donned his gillie suit, and got his rifle out. He was never one to be caught unprepared, and kept an entire box full of ammunition for his sniper rifle, which came out to be about 300 rounds of ammunition for his M40A3, and his trusty pistol, named such because he had to buy it and clear it for use in combat, his Heckler and Koch

USP. Unfortunately this made his pack much to heavy to do any real humping with so he had to cut some things out, like his field shovel, blanket, and just about everything except for his 5 MRE's and his ammunition.

So the hot patrol north began, Jack wasn't sure were he was, but head in one direction long enough and you have to find something eventually.

Jack wasn't crawling very long before he heard the clatter of a city. He rose over a bend and below him around 1000 yards out he saw an entire city, he decided he should keep quiet and observe the situation, better that then run into hostile territory.

He glassed the area with his binoculars, and quickly spotted several running figures, taking their description down mentally. One of them a tall platinum blonde with his gaze fixed on something, he was obviously chasing something, then there was an older man with an almost bloodthirsty expression on his face, he seemed to be chasing something too.

Then there was a man with brown hair, and he was moving fast so it was very hard to make out his pupils, and the man up front had on a mask and black cloak, he seemed to be following something as well. Curious at what they were chasing with such vigor, Jack glassed ahead and saw a little boy, about twelve or thirteen. As Jack was watching the man with the mask caught up to the boy and delivered a vicious kick to the back of his head. The boy went down and was miraculously conscious as the other men caught up to him and started kicking him mercilessly. Jack was faced with a decision of his morals.

Jack decided not to intervene but had his scope dialed in regardless.

"The kid probably stole something, or hurt somebody," Jack thought.

Then Jack saw the man wearing a mask pull out what looked like a short sword.

"Oh Christ, what the fuck am I doing!" were the last words Jack muttered before quickly assessing which one to kill first.

The one with black/brown hair didn't have pupils so he must have been blind, or maybe a birth defect, either way he was less likely to be able to make his way to Jack and kill him. Not that there was much of a chance for any of them, Jack was 1245 yards out, being seen while in a gillie from that range without the aid of a seeing device was impossible.

The old man didn't seem to be a threat.

The one with platinum blond hair was an able bodied man, but the one with the mask was the fastest of the bunch, so most likely the bigger threat to the kid. Jack made up his mind and fired on the one with the mask.

The bullet impacted the man right in the back of the neck, and he dropped like a sack of potatoes.

**This chapter was edited 10/28/07**


	2. Chapter two

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or anything else copywrighted/patented mentioned in this story. _Authors note: I apologize for the last chapter, I was not paying attention and I forgot some key elements. I plan to make this story with as few "impossibilities" as I can. Some things quite obviously only happen in fiction. (Like carrying 300 rounds for a sniper rifle)_

_Please excuse the blocky-ness of my story fluency; I'm just getting the hang of writing as a whole._

_Thanks for all the reviews. If someone could suggest a pairing or two, I would appreciate the help._

Chapter Two 

Jack meet, _The Professor_

Most things you take for granted, are what truly make you happy 

-Marine Drill Sergeant

The man with the blond hair was first to react and had dived behind a trash pile.

Jack snickered at his stupidity, ejected the cartridge, and reloaded. Then Jack aimed for the trash pile and fired. Blood shot up from behind the pile, so Jack looked for the next threat. The old man was no were to be seen, the blind man apparently wasn't blind, as he had his head tilted to Jack's position and was running in his direction. Jack took action immediately. It was too late to hit the man with his sniper the man was just moving too fast. Jack pulled out his pistol and aimed at the incoming enemy, the man "saw" this and jumped impossibly high.

Jack called upon his training and reached for his K-bar. Whipping it around in a reverse grip, he punched upward straight at the free falling opponent. The man defied Newton's laws however and whirled in a circle creating a weird blue "aurora". Jack wanted no part of whatever it was, and dived well out of the way.

The hit the ground and the crater formed by the magic sphere was quite impressive.

Jack could tell when he was outclassed and dropped his pistol and K-bar to the ground, his M40 was resting safely next to his pack. He wasn't sure what else this man was capable of, but he didn't want to find out in a combat situation.

"I give up" was all Jack had to say. He had a problem handing himself over to the enemy, a big problem he was always taught death before dishonor. He was never taught what to do against magic however.

"Giving up isn't an option, you are going to die."

After saying this, the man got into a ready stance but was thrown off when a gust of wind blew, and out of thin air an extremely old man appeared.

"Stop immediately" the man rasped, but there was a strange power to his words. Jack could sense without a doubt this man had power well above the "not-so-blind" man.

Then the man rounded on Jack with a glare that was impressive. Having had to deal with Drill Instructors, the Marine scout/sniper remained wholly unimpressed.

He did however, stand at attention.

"What is your name?" the man asked, more of a demand then an actual question.

"Master gunnery sergeant Jack Vendi"

"And what country do you come from?"

"The United States of America"

Then the old man's questions got more personal "how many ninja's like you has your country trained?"

Jack recognized this as a "question of interest" (a question that if answered could give away vital information about a country's secret or valuable operations), and so responded as trained, with alphabet soup.

"4th Marine regiment 3rd battalion Master Gunnery Sergeant Jack Vendi"

This set the old man to thinking "does your country intend to start a war with us?"

"No"

"Then why have you killed one of my ninja's and maimed another? "

"So you're the one in charge then?"

The old man looked surprised, and damn near smacked himself, he obviously had not meant to give away the information readily like that.

The sniper in jack smirked; he had gained the upper hand in the conversation.

Looking venomous Jack followed through with his newfound control of the conversation. "So, can you tell me when the practice of killing little boys was first established in your village?"

"My name is Sarutobi, and I assure you I do not allow such a thing to take place, nor do I allow any of my subordinates killers to go unpunished."

"Well you should know, I was only defending a boy from some ruthless killers. One of them is standing behind you, one of the bastards got away, and one of them is dead"

"I see, then I am deeply sorry for this misunderstanding, I will punish the offenders immediate-" but the old man was cut off when the white eyed person through a knife at him, and in the time it took for the old man to catch the knife mid-air, and for Jack to pick up his own K-bar, the wily man had already disappeared into the tree line.

Sarutobi sighed, "Well now that I know you weren't lying let's get to my office shall we?"

Suspicious of the sudden hospitality jack sheathed his K-bar, and slipped his USP into the holster, leaving it "unsnapped and unsafe" so as to be ready of an attack "sure just let me get my things"

Upon grabbing his pack and rifle, and slinging his now removed gillie over his shoulder, Jack followed the man to an incredibly high tower in the very center of the town.

After an incredibly exhausting walk upstairs to a large office with papers literally stacked neck high almost every were, and a fine oak desk in the very middle. Sarutobi sat down behind the desk and proceeded to ask Jack a series of questions, oddly about his character, and values.

"What is your idea of honor?"

"_Omerta_"

"Please explain."

"A wounded man shall say to his assailant, if I live, I will kill you, if I die, you are forgiven."

"I see, and what are three principles you value the most?"

"Faithfulness, courage, and determination"

"Would you take talent, or hard work?"

"Hard work, talent is meaningless if left unrefined."

Then the questions took a different turn.

"Would you be willing to train a young boy, to train a young boy?"

"Train him in what exactly?, how to become a sniper?"

"Yes, if that's what you call it."

"You want me to teach a young boy how to kill?"

"Yes but, he will learn to kill in the ninja academy, and be sent on dangerous missions every day virtually unprepared, unless you train him as your apprentice."

"In that case I would train the kid to be my equal without a thought."

The old man smiled, and then Jack heard a loud banging sound, and an incredibly loud voice on the other side of the door scream, "HEY OLD MAN!!"

Author's post note: if you don't like were the story is going , just let me know, I'm incredibly open to suggestions. Hope every one is enjoying the story so far.

Naruto is currently 12 years old, and the genin exams are about 3 days away-to establish a time line for you.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Don't worry guys, all of you who left reviews, thanks! I'm posting this out of respect,

I imagine after the word count goes up, my review count will too.

Thanks again. As always, don't forget to help me out with your thoughtful critique.

* * *

Jack slapped his forehead. _How could I be so stupid! _

"errr you see, I meant, that I would be willing to train someone capable. My trainee needs to have _some _sort of natural ability to blend in, as well as the mental fortitude to kill."

"WHAT I'M SUPER STEALTHY!, ASK OLD MAN!!!," Naruto practically screamed.

"Naruto, please leave, I will talk to you when I am done here."

Surprisingly the little bundle of energy left, without making a fuss.

"I'm not teaching him."

"please! You must, he will die when he enters the real ninja world."

'_Christ, NINJA? What the fuck, were am I?'_

Sighing, Jack played along, "my training program is too tough, on top of that, I know nothing about were I am. I don't know your customs, I don't know how your military system work, and I DON'T know how to teach what I know."

"well, why not teach him the same way you learned?"

"what! I can't do that to a little…" Jack was cut off by Naruto's incredibly loud voice,

"OLD MAN! ARE YOU STILL TALKING TO THE GUY WITH THE JAR FOR A HEAD?"

Jack stood up and beamed, "I'll do it!"

"when do you want to start?"

"I'll teach him a little, until he turns 16, then I'll start the real training but I need to know how everything works around here, where can I find water? What is there to eat?"

"Ask Naruto, you need to get to know your student after all"

"I highly doubt he knows were to find a bar at."

"Point taken"

At the snap the of a finger, a figure dressed in black literally appeared out of no where.

"Kakashi, why not show this man around town?"

"Yo, I'm Kakashi" the figure stated from behind his mask, while extending an arm.

"Jack Vendi" Was all the sniper said as he shook his hand firmly.

"so where do you want to go first? "

"the bar, and hurry"

"this way" the man was lazy, but Jack preffered lazy to formal.

* * *

Naruto walked briskly down the street. _It's always like that, old man always asks, and they ALWAYS refuse. Why do I even bother trying? What am I saying! I'm gonna be hokage, duh. I can't just give up because no one will train me, I'll just have to learn on my own! _Naruto stopped and looked at the sky. _I'm really bored._

That's when Naruto's inner lightbulb went off. Naruto ran to his apartment and grabbed a spool of ninja wire and a fish hook, before heading for the Akibeko Bar.

Jack had spent the last two hours learning about the town and country, he was shown around all over the town

"So then the Drill instructor said YOU TRYING TO MOVE MY BUILDING PRIVATE, CAUSE MARINES FINISH WHAT THY START! NOW MOVE MY GODDAMN BUILDING, Private griggs was out there for Hours pushing against the building, before the DI let him go"

Kakashi and Jack shared a laugh and patted each other on the back, both of them were relatively smashed.

Still laughing Jack reached for his drink only to find it missing. Jack looked around before he spotted the thief.

A tall middle aged man was busy pouring his drink out on the floor, "you're the one training the Demon brat aren't you?" he sneered.

"huh?" Jack was confused "you mean the blond haired kid who talks loud?"

"yes, the demon piece of shit!, how could you train him!"

Jack couldn't stand that, he was always taught to stand by your own, Naruto was his trainee and Jack remembered the beating his Drill Instructor gave to a man who through a Mc. Donald cup at them during a march through town. Jack decided to stand up for his student, even if he didn't know him very well.

Jack grabbed the man, and flung him through the bar window. The man landed hard as Jack stepped through the window after him. He grabbed his collar as he was down and utilized the famous Punch-Per-Word "Natuto _Punch _Is _Punch _My student _Punch _so watch _Punch _your damn _punch _MOUTH _Punch" _The man was passed out by the end, and his face defiantly didn't look good. Jack stood over him tired, and breathing heavy. He looked up, and saw Naruto Shocked and staring.

"you defended……Me?" he pointed to himself, and the seasoned sniper nodded his head

"why?"

"I wasn't going to stand there and let him insult my student, first lesson, Semper Fidelis, Always Faithful.

It means, no matter what, I'm always going to stand by you and put my life on the line to defend you.

Can you live by this rule? To remain always faithful to your comrade's in arms?"

The boy thought for a minute and then looked determined

"YES-SENSEI!"

"not sensei, you will call me SIR,

"NOW SAY IT!"

"YES SIR!"

"WHAT SIR?" screamed Jack, now nose to nose with Naruto.

"SEMPER FI SIR!"

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

"SEMPER FI SIR!"

"good job Naruto, your dismissed."

"yes sir"

Naruto quickly scampered away.

"well that was certainly interesting" a still buzzed Kakashi stated.

"that was…fun! Training Naruto is going to be a blast!, so tell me were do I sleep?"

"well there's an inn, but Sarutobi informed me you were to be staying at Naruto's guest room."

_He has his own PLACE! _

"right, his guest room, lead the way."

* * *

Author's Note 2.0'''

Well writing is a blast, and it's really fun to do, I'm a busy person, so updates will be slow going, however! I've recently bought a pad and paper, so I can write anywere.

Thanks for reading! As always, I'll be sure to update soon, and advice is VERY welcome.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four looks like I'm moving up in the world!

Quick note, before, when I did nothing but read, and Beta Read, I had no idea how hard writing is, I've opened up a whole new world of challenges for myself, in high-school, I had trouble writing 200 word Para-essay's So far I've written four thousand words…. for fun. Respect to all the writers out there!

On a lighter note, some reviews are heart warming, and really have helped me so much! Thanks for every review I have ever received, you know who you are, I'm quite happy that people are reading this thing!

* * *

Jack woke up at around 4:30 in the morning with a pounding headache.

_Ugh, too much to drink…coffee! _

Jack lazily stepped into the kitchen/bedroom/living room, and froze.

"Fuck" _no coffee! _

"Stupid Japanese, shit, no coffee! Honestly!" Jack mumbled.

With eye's still sagging Jack turned and remembered there was a sleeping child in the room.

Deciding to use the rare quiet for thinking, the grizzly Marine sat down and brainstormed.

'Ok so what do I know; the military fight with magic, the old guy is the leader of them, the sake here is great, the women are hot, I know my way around town, and I have to somehow train a kid to be a sniper.'

"What the fuck am I going to do" Jack mumbled again.

'Hmmmm, well, he listens and learns pretty fast, and from what Kakashi says, he won't tire out very easily…ah Christ, what the fuck am I going to do with this kid! I am NOT training a child to kill. Not until he's eighteen. So what do I do with this kid for six years?'

That's when it hit him, a sniper kills people, and a spotter just helps with the shots and covers the snipers back! Which is the perfect place to learn about sniping, WITHOUT actually killing anybody, or wasting precious ammunition on targets."

'I'll just teach him to be a spotter! I can shoot the men, and I don't have to be responsible for creating a killer! I better talk to the old guy first though god knows what he will do to me.

Writing down a quick note to tell the little rascal were he was going, Jack left the apartment, and headed towards the Super big tower.

* * *

"Alright" grumbled the old man. "You want Naruto to tell how to find targets using a lower powered magnifying glass?"

"More or less"

"And doing this means Naruto doesn't have to kill unless absolutely necessary?"

"Precisely, I'll be doing the shooting."

"That might be a problem, you aren't a shinobi of Konoha, I can't have you going around doing missions, if you aren't part of our village."

"Well, does being a shinobi of Konoha mean I have to leave my current...ugh…village?"

"Hmmm, I'd have to list your village as a full ally, so you don't have to leave your village."

'_I can't just rush into this' _Jack thought.

"What does being an ally entail?"

"Simple really, it means, You're village will be considered, a part of Fire Country, and our village will be considered a part of-" Sarutobi waited for Jack to finish his sentence.

"The United States Of America"

"Right… please understand, you will have to go before our council, and it will take a lot of luck to pull this off, we made the law, but we have never granted this privilege before."

"The council?"

"…Right… well it's simple, I am the Hokage, I have complete control over the Ninja in our village, the council has control over everything else, taxes, treaties, and such."

"I see, so there the ones I have to impress, so they agree to be 'full' allies"

"Exactly"

Jack smiled; he still had his dress uniform!

"Well when is the meeting?"

"I signaled them, we meet in ten minutes"

"Awww, crap! I need to change"

"Grab my hand, we'll be there in a sec"

Jack grabbed his hand, a little weirded out, he blinked, and then he nearly fell over in shock. They were in the apartment, Naruto had already gone off to school, and there was an empty ramen cup on the table, breakfast no doubt.

"Well, don't just stand there, get dressed" the old man chuckled.

* * *

Standing perfectly still in front of the audience chamber, now in his dress uniform. Jack was as confused as a serial killer in heaven.

"One last thing before we go in, don't ask why, but what ever you do, DON'T MENTION NARUTO"

It was amazing how Sarutobi could shout, without raising his voice.

"No problem" was Jack's curt reply, he was in warrior made, ready for anything a bunch of old farts sitting at a table could throw at him, and in they went.

"Greeting members of the council, I've asked you all here to propose a **full** ally treaty with the United States Of America" Sarutobi stated, while addressing every member with his eyes.

The council was in a gulf tournament uproar, everyone was mumbling to each other silently, without concern. A few did voice their concern over the matter. "Who is this country! Were they even located!

"I have a representative of the country standing beside me. Please show some dignity, and address your questions to him."

Like magic the whole council shut-up and went into dignified-therefore-better-than-you mode.

"What is your name?"

"Master Gunnery sergeant Jack Vendi, United States Marine Corps, at your service." Jack gave a little mock bow.

"And what exactly do you do for your country?"

"I kill people from extremely long distances, and I recon places our military hasn't been, to look for signs of life" God did Jack love saying true things in a way that implies something else.

"How far away exactly?

Jack looked out the window, and pointed, "you see that cliff with the faces over there? I could, kill somebody standing in this room, from there."

They laughed hysterically, "You expect that bluff to work?"

Sarutobi stood up, " He isn't lying, we have a man in the hospital missing an arm that could attest to that"

"What's in it for us. Why should we accept your offer?"

"Accepting my offer means we avoid the potential for a bloody war that will likely ruin both our countries. On top of that, I would gladly teach a shinobi of my choice everything I know."

"We need time to think about this, perhaps we could meet in a week or so?"

"You have 20 minutes council men, I do not have the time to wait for you, perhaps my skills would be better suited for a different country?" Jack gave a little smirk because he knew he had them.

Sarutobi sat dumbstruck, _'I had no idea this kid was that good at politics, he was in the room for ten minutes before he had everyone in the room figured out.'_

After several minutes of barely hushed voices filling the room, the council quieted and

Voiced its decision.

"We except your offer, we would like you to look over the list of shinobi we have here and there files, then inform the council of your apprentice."

Jack beamed, and Sarutobi gave the briefest of a smile. "The shinobi of my choice is Naruto Uzumaki"

"I'll be taking my leave now, I'm quite tired."

Jack left the room smiling like the cat that got the canary, or in this case the Sniper who got the Council to agree to something they didn't want.

Sarutobi laughed and laughed in his office; _'I can't believe he was able to do that!' _the look on the council's face was absolutely priceless.

* * *

Jack sat in the hokage's office smiling the day after his victory over the council.

"When he becomes a genin I will instate him as your apprentice, here is a shinobi hand book, read it well, it will instruct you on the shinobi code, as well as give you information on pretty much everything you need to know."

"Thanks, I'll study this everyday till I can recite it from memory"

"I expect no less, you are now appointed Jonin (seriously, how do you spell that?) Of konoha, I expect your behavior to be perfect. Don't let me down."

"Yes sir!"

Jack walked out crisply, after giving a little fake salute. After arriving at the apartment he now shared with Naruto.

Jack sat back on the couch, and started reading.

* * *

As Always! thanks for reading buddies! Read Reveiw, and enjoy, this gravy train ain't stopping any time soon! 


	5. Chapter 5

Hey Fella's, I've been busy lately but I did find the time to type this up.

Enjoy the chapter! 

* * *

Naruto woke up to the smell of bacon and a very annoying alarm clock.

He hopped out of bed lazily and looked into his kitchen.

"You made food!" 

Jack smiled, he figured if he was going to be this kids trainer, he better gain respect, and lots of it!

Of course the quickest and most efficient way to do this, was to never be wrong, and to always have a lesson prepared. 

"Hey little man, I made breakfast, you have a big test today and you never do anything strenuous on an empty stomach. "

Naruto just stood at the foot of his bed and stared at the six-egg omelet complete with bacon and toast on the side, clearly shocked and amazed. 

"You made food? For me?"

Sighing Jack decided to clear up Naruto's disbelief.

"No I didn't make the food for you Naruto, I made it for the tooth fairy, I woke you up so you could bring it to her."

Naruto sat there in confusion for a moment before asking for directions, 

"Were is Mrs. Tooth Fairy's house?"

Slapping his forehead, Jack nearly screamed in silent frustration. 

"Look Naruto, I'm your trainer and mentor, I consider you my friend, and I look out for you, I expect you to look out for me in return. So I made you breakfast because you have the Genin exams today and I want you to go in prepared, now sit down, and enjoy your meal would ya?"

Naruto sat down and started eating but looked down in shame and said 

"It doesn't matter how much I eat, I'm going to fail, and I can't make a bunshin"

Jack giggled, this was what being a teacher was all about! 

"Well Naruto, guess what, you don't have to do a bunshin to pass!"

Naruto face snapped up in disbelief 

"Here is what ya do little man, you know the paper that you fill out right before you take the test?"

Naruto eye's sparkled, and he nodded, 

"Well Naruto, all the information you fill out goes onto your Ninja I.D. card, along with your picture. 

All you have to do, is check the box that says you are an apprentice to another ninja, put the ninja's name on the blank next to the box, and TADA! You're a ninja, no matter how you do on the crappy test."

Naruto thought for a moment before asking, "why doesn't everyone do that then? Then everyone would pass the test!"

"Simple, after your chunin Instructor looks at your paper, the ninja's name you put down is immediately called into the office, to verify that you are in fact, an apprentice. So you can't just lie and say you're an apprentice, also, the person you list as your apprentice has to be at least Jounin rank"

Naruto's eyes sank to the ground in defeat, "No Jounin would want anything to do with me."

Jacks eyes sparkled and he reached underneath the table, pulling out his newly issued Jounin vest, along with his freshly made Konoha forehead protector, beaming at Naruto he said three words 

"This one does."

* * *

Naruto walked into the Konoha Ninja Academy beaming with pride, he had already failed the test 2 times, and now, he knew he would never fail again, today, he was going to pass, regardless of a stupid bunshin, regardless of the teacher disgust, and regardless of the students laughing at him, he was going to be a Genin by the end of the day.

"Alright listen up! The written portion of the test is next, I will have no sleeping Shikamaru, no cheating Ino, and NO PERVERTED JUTSU NARUTO!" 

"You may begin…now!" 

The sound of pencils scratching on paper was music to Iruka's ears. 

Thirty minutes and many strained brains later, Iruka signaled the end of the test.

"Ok class, I'm glad you got the written test over with. After you turn you paper in, please fill out the paper work I will be handing out to you. And for god sakes, no funny business, this paper work determines the information listed on your Ninja I.D. card. 

Naruto beamed. 

Walking up to the front and turning in his test, he grabbed the paperwork from Iruka and took the stairs two at a time to his desk. He quickly filled out the information.

Name: Naruto Uzumaki

Specialty: EVERYTHING! Duh

Date Of Birth: October 10th, 2008

Rank: none…yet! 

Quickly filling out the end of the rest of the paper work, he scanned, and in the bottom left corner he spotted the one line that would instate him as a Konoha Ninja 

_If you are an apprentice check here_: and list your Jounin (or higher) master here 

Still smiling, Naruto checked the box, and filled in on the line Jack Vendi. Snickering loudly, Naruto walked to the front of the class, and turned in his paperwork. 

Looking around, Iruka gazed at Naruto and said, "alright Naruto, you're the first to turn in your paperwork, follow me into this room, and we can get your _real_ testing under way. 

Without losing his smirk, Naruto followed Iruka in to the testing office, and waited for the testing to begin.

"Alright Naruto, I want you to hide to the best of your ability."

Thinking on his feet Naruto pocketed the flower vase on the desk, and henge'd himself into the the vase.

Iruka clapped "good job Naruto, you picked a vase, which isn't likely to be picked up and handled unless something is wrong with it, you also didn't make any mistakes when you copied the vase, you did however, forget the flowers, I'd call it at about a 9 out of 10."

Suddenly getting serious again Iruka looked grim and in a deadly serious tone said, " alright Naruto, last test, create three bunshin."

'_man, I fail this every time, I want to at least be worthy of my title, come on Naruto, pull yourself together and make three god damn bunshin'_

Clapping his hands in the ram seal, Naruto waited until he could feel the chakra coursing through his body, then he shouted Bunshin No Jutsu! 

After the cloud of dust cleared a bunshin that looked more paste then human was all he had to show for his effort. Sighing in defeat Naruto was disappointed, even though he knew he was going to be a genin anyway. He still wanted to deserve his title. 

Iruka blanched, he felt so sorry for Naruto, this was the third time he had failed his Genin exam. I'm sorry Naruto, but you failed and…" 

Mizuki quickly cut Iruka off and said "no he didn't. He apparently has an apprenticeship. A Mr. Jack Vendi."

Iruka thought for a moment before stating in a disappointed tone "Naruto, I've never heard of Jack Vendi before. It doesn't sound like it's from around here. Are you lying?"

"No sensei! He is real! Call him up here!"

"Iruka waved to Mizuki to get moving, send a messenger to the Hokage, we need Jack Vendi here as soon as possible.

A knock was heard at the door, before a tall man wearing a Jounin vest and a Konoha headband along with a symbol on his shoulder that looked like an eagle, globe, and anchor stepped in, Iruka noticed he never heard his footsteps on the wooden floor as he approached, sticking out his hand towards Iruka 

"Jack Vendi, and you are?"

Clearing his throat to buy some time, Iruka grabbed his hand quickly 

"Iruka, I'm Naruto's chunin instructor, just to make certain, Naruto is your apprentice correct?"

"yup, he is defiantly my apprentice, now if you don't mind, can we get his headband now? I want to start celebrating as soon as possible."

Iruka was jumping on the inside, finally someone willing to accept Naruto without prejudice, a person even willing to take Naruto and train him. And this man looked to be a very good shinobi, he seemed to be very accustomed to blending in. 

"you are willing to take Naruto in? and train him?" Mizuki said fake hopefulness lacing his breath.

"I've been in this village for two monthes, established the first full alliance EVER in the history of both are…ughh…villages just to train the boy, and I'll be damned if some stupid ass magic test is the reason I can't."

Iruka couldn't help but be curious, "you were watching? I didn't see you in the window."

Chuckiling softly, Jack loved showing off, "I was in that tree over there" he stated as he pointed to a tree around 500 yards from the window. 

Squinting, Iruka was floored, he could barely see the damn tree, there is no way this man could look through the window at that distance, "good one Jack, I can barely see the tree, and you expect me to believe you could clearly see us from that far out?" 

"I have my ways, now give me the damn headband, I have good news for Naruto."

Naruto walked out of the academy, to his left was Jack, looming tall over head, and in Naruto's left hand stood the very first step he was taking towards actually becoming Hokage. He shakily grabbed the Headband and wrapped it around the top of his head. Speaking softly he tried to give voice to his feelings 

"it feels like, everything I have ever done, everything I have ever succeeded at, is finally worth it. I'm just so…so…It's"

Jack smiled and tapped the Eagle Globe and Anchor on his shoulder "I know the feeling kid, you don't have to stutter. bask inthe feeling Naruto, it's called accomplishment"

* * *

A/N : well dudes, thanks for the spelling help, I'm fairly certain I didn't misspell any words, (minus the random mistake!…if there is one) I've got a few really great idea's from some of the readers, and I will be encorperating some of them plenty soon! This is the longest chapter yet! I'm slowly finding this whole writing thing get easier, and I rarely have to pause and think about were my story is going anymore! 

Thanks for the support, as always, critique the shit out of me, I don't mind, just please, no insults!

R-R thanks a billion!

Also, been looking for Beta, butI have absolutly no clue how the whole beta thing works for a writer, help?

Chapter edited, 

Spelling for chunin was fixed (it was wrong before) and some minor grammatical issues were corrected


	6. Chapter 6

as always, enjoy the read! and offer critique. Also, it's important to know, that the battle story listed below is an actual battle. But do understand, I was not there, in 1993 I was five-years-old.. Still I based some of it on my experience.

* * *

"Alright Naruto, your official training starts today. I'm going to start the day off with some academics, after we're done, we'll stop for lunch, then it's off to train our bodies. If you have any questions ask them now. "

Mulling over what Jack said, Naruto sarcastically asked "you said OUR bodies, does that mean your working out with me sensei?"

"yes that's exactly what it means Naruto, I'm going to be working out with you everyday, what kind of teacher would I be if I wasn't able to do what I expect out of you? Now wipe that surprised look off your face and let's get on with the day."

Naruto sat down and opened up the yellow notepad provided to him by Jack, grabbing his pencil, he prepared to take notes, something he never did in the academy.

"When we go on missions, you will be my spotter Naruto, I will be your shooter, your job is to take ranges, and spot targets, and call out there positions, so I can take them out. It sounds easy, but you have to be able to do these things on the fly, not only is the distance important, but so is the wind speed and direction, which way they are moving, and which way they might move are also very important. All of those things you have to have ready for me on the fly. You won't have time to do the calculations on paper, you won't have time to ask for help, can you do this?"

Naruto nodded, keeping his eye fixed on Jacks. He never would have dreamed Jack would give him such and obviously hard, and very important job.

"Now lets get some lunch, I'm too hungry to teach you much today."

Fourty minutes and a full stomach later, Jack stood up and Naruto quickly followed.

"Alright Naruto, today is simple, lets start this off with a nice jog, follow me, and keep pace, don't run ahead, but don't fall behind. "

Starting in at a light jog, Jack lead Naruto around the training field three times before he started down through the heart of the village towards the Hokage Tower..

Still keeping pace, they rounded the base of the tower and headed back towards the training ground.

Upon reaching the training ground, Jack began work on upper body strength.

"You know what a pushup is right Naruto?"

"Yes sensei"

"Well, after our run, we will be doing seventy push-ups and sit-ups, starting with push-ups. Tommorow I expect you to start right after our run, I dislike repeating myself."

"yes sensei" was all Jack heard before they each hit the deck, and started doing there push-ups, Jack finished much faster then Naruto, and began doing his sit-ups.

"good job Naruto, I'd give it about two weeks before you can start doing them as fast as me." Clapping Jack stood up and dug through his pack, before digging out his spare gillie net. "Alright Naruto, I'm going to teach you how to make this" he held up the spare gillie net "look like this" Jack held up the completed gillie suit. Throwing the net at Naruto, he gave simple instructions. "Look around for some brush, moss works really well, but you want variety, I want you to lay out anything you might find useful for blending in on the grass in front of me. You have forty minutes."

Naruto dashed through the forest keeping his eyes locked on the ground. He quickly picked up several handfuls of moss before running back and throwing it on the ground next to Jack's feet. Dashing off again he grabbed anything green and bushy, and headed back to his "brush pile." Throwing the assortment of bushes and moss down Naruto rested his hands on his knees and gave a half hearted "done sensei"

"Alright Naruto, you have a nice variety here, I'm proud of you, now I'm going to show you how to weave the moss in, and I want you to finish the rest of the guile suit."

If you run out of bush, I have some burlap strips, they don't reflect light, and they are just as good as the moss you grabbed." Jack grabbed the net in one hand, and skillfully wove a thin strip of burlap into the net. Before having Naruto repeat the process with a strip of moss.

"Alright, Naruto, I'm going to tell you a story as you work, I want you to tell me what you learned when your done with your suit."

Naruto started working at a hurried pace, weaving in the moss and thin branches with fervor.

Jack began his story, hoping to give Naruto some background information, and teach him some of the things a spotter should do.

" A long time ago, My call sign was Gabriel, because the archangel and I had a lot in common. Legend says Gabriel's trumpet will sound the last judgment. I do the same sort of thing with my rifle. In 1993, I was the sergeant in charge of a marine sniper section with _Task Force Somalia_, and on the evening of January 6th, General Klimp barked, "Gabriel, the 10th Mountain Command Post says they are under attack. Grab a couple of your boys and go help them out." I took a three-vehicle convoy bristling with machine guns, through the north gate of Mogadishu stadium towards the command post of the Army's 10th Mountain Division. Resting between my knees was a M82A1A Special Application Scoped Rifle (SASR), a .50 caliber beast of a weapon that weighs more then 28pounds and fires an armor piercing incendiary tracer bullet that can punch a hole through a sheet of steel, and an even bigger hole through flimsy flesh. The temperature still simmered in the nineties, and children who resembled the walking dead begged for food as we passed. Around three hundred thousand people had already starved in Somalia, and many more would die as long as the feuding warlords chose to violently expand their fiefdoms rather then feed and protect their people. When I saw flies crawl on the face of a dead child, it was easy to hate the vicious fighters who were causing such slaughter.

We called the ragtag militia "skinnies" and "Sammies." It is natural for a Marine to denigrate the enemy, because it helps dehumanize them. We had to call them something and didn't want to think of them as real people, it could cause us to hesitate for a fatal moment. The Saying "Know your enemy" does not apply in such cases. Some things are better left unknown.

The 10th Mountain, a strong division with thousands of combat troops, was spread all over and beyond Mogadishu and had left only a few security troops to protect there headquarters, in the heart of a city that seethed with unrest. Nevertheless, other then some chipped plaster on the outside walls, I saw no sign that any dangerous firefight had taken place.

As the gates swung open, we were greeted by a colonel who apparently had been expecting the whole damn Marine Corps to come charging over the hill. Instead he got me, and about ten other guys.

The colonel didn't know he was dealing with a Marine sergeant, since we never wore rank insignia in combat situations, so he treated me as an equal. He escorted me up to the third floor of the command post building, and I put a hand up to shield my eyes from the glaring sunlight. Only six hundred yards away were three long warehouses that our intelligence sources said were packed to the rafters with the warlords weapons. As long as the guns stayed inside, there was no problem, but if the militamen decided to come out and play, they would be more then this group of cooks, and candlestick makers could handle.

A lot of people were hurrying around those warehouses, busy movement with nothing getting done. They weren't taking anything in or out and every so often they would steal a glance at us. Although there had been no more then the occasional harassing shot so far, I believed these guys were doing more then just passing through the area and that the situation had the potential to worsen.

After consulting with General Klimp, I was ordered establish an over-watch position.

By the time night fell I was on the roof of the 10th Mountain divisions CP building, with three other snipers, a couple of guys with M60 machine guns and an Air Traffic Controller, known as the FAC, to coordinate helicopter gunship backup when the ground troops moved in at dawn..

The plan was simple, surround the ware houses, and give the sammies till dawn to come out with there hand held high.

My spot was between an air-conditioner duct and the three foot high parapet that surrounded the roof. I squeezed into a tight sitting position, my boots and butt making a solid three-point stance, elbows on knees and eye to the 10-power Unertl telescope on the big SASR rifle, which rested on a pad across the parapet.

It was 7:30 A.M when I checked my weapon one more time- one big .50 caliber round in the chamber and five more in my clip- I slipped on my night vision goggles. If something happened, I had no intention of letting it dissolve into a fair fight.

As dawn approached an African storm moved in and degraded my night-vision goggles, making it impossible to see what was going on. You could hear engines turning over, and people shouting, the Skinnies were making mischief."

Jack looked at Naruto for a moment, and noticed his gillie net was almost halfway done, it had been about an hour, after weaving light brush and moss in his net for only an hour, Naruto had already become twice as adept at weaving the brush in then when he had started, he was now weaving faster, and his weaves were now secure, instead of light and easy to remove, the moss was now weaved into the net much more firmly.

" good job Naruto, keep working, your improving" was all the encouragement Jack gave Naruto, before continuing his story.

" Dawn, the demanded time for surrender had arrived, our missile-carrying helicopter were inbound. We stood to our guns as the rain tapered off, our goggles showing blurred images of an incredible scene. A bunch of gunmen were in positions of cover, and the Skinnies had rolled out two T-52 tanks, along with a big radar guided antiaircraft weapon, a ZSU-23/4, which had four 23 mm cannons and is known as a 'Zeus.' If the helicopter arrived on schedule, that thing would blow them out of the sky. "Abort! Abort!" the FAC screamed into his radio handset.

We wanted a fight and it looked like we would get one, but we still gave them the final chance to surrender. As the loudspeakers shouted the warning, I heard General Klimp speaking calmly into my headset. "Gabriel, can you take out that zeus without hurting anybody else?"

"Yes" I replied, forgetting to add "sir" I was curt because I was busy, firmly locked into a rigid sitting-Indian position with my body square behind my rifle, and with my scope sighted on the ammunition feed tray of the ZSU. If ordered, I would disable the big gun.

The Cobra's had come to a halt and were hovering just behind our building, their rotor blades thudding like a mad drummer. The Zeus gunner heard them to, and had cranked his weapon to aim directly over our rooftop position in order to catch the arriving chopper when they popped into view.

As usual, just before combat, life slowed down for me. It is as if a viewer is fast forwarding a movie, and then suddenly clicks to slow motion. My eyesight sharpens; I can hear the slightest sound but can tune it out if it is not important. Even my sence of smell is heightened. I believe that a really good sniper not only has the muscle memory developed by years of constant practice but also has some special unknown gene in his body chemistry, because I was operating more on instinct then training.

I looked carefully past the feed tray and examined the magnified image of the gunner seated between the two pairs of mounted cannons He wore a dirty T-shirt and some kind of cutoff trousers, with flip-flop sandals on his feet. I had a good line.

"take the shot" said the general, and I fired taking the big kick of the recoil as my rifle thundered. The heavy round punched through the metal feed tray, then slammed into the gunner like a bowling ball going one hundred miles an hour. The last I saw of him, he was flipping upside down over the back of the seat, thin legs splayed in the air, and barefoot because he was blown right out of his sandals.

My shot started the battle and brought an answering blast from another Zeus. It's big rounds chewed at the concrete, green starcers laced the dawn sky, and we dove beneath the parapet for cover. That was only a momentary reaction. My spotter shouted, "you gotta engage or he'll tare this building apart! Stop him Jack!" chunks of cement exploded around us as the quadruple cannon rattled nonstop. I had rolled over like a turtle, still in the cross-legged position, and my spotter grabbed my collar with his left hand to help yank me up straight again.

I came over the parapet again with that green shit flying all around and shells smashing the building, I opened up on the very center mass of the Zeus killing the gunner, too, and my armor piercing bullets tore the weapon apart.

The tanks were next, and my boys took down every skinny that tried to climb aboard them. Incase anyone was inside, I reloaded and put three bullets into the hulls were the gunner would be, then three more into the driver's positions.

The Marine Cobra helicopters rose up and joined the firefight, coming in right over our heads and unleashing a deafening typhoon of missiles, cannon, and snarling machine gun fire on the warehouses. Their rotor blasts threatened to tear us off the building, and there spent brass showered down on us, steaming hot. Then a couple of Marine tanks lumbered into the area and provided even more firepower. The cease fire command came only about four minutes after I fired the first shot, and the absolutely devastated area fell silent. Flames ate at the warehouses, and columns of smoke blackend the morning sky. "

Naruto was putting the finishing touches on his gillie, using the strips of burlap to fill out the bottom.

"Great job Naruto!, you know I had to re-make mine. Yours is very well made! Now put it on Naruto, I have a mission for us today. We are going to sneak all the way to that tower, without being spotted" Jack stated, while pointing at a tower far to east surrounded by forest.

* * *

Well that's it folks! The new chapter should be out in a couple of days or so. This one took so long because I decided to double my chapter size! Well I'm off to the gym, I need to be able to run three miles in under 18 minutes to qualify for Force Recon, or at least, meet one of the requirements anyway! Thanks for reading! and wish me luck!


	7. Chapter 7

Random time Skip Time. I know, I'm sorry. No excuse for my laziness, but I told myself I'd wait until someone reviewed this story again before I updated.. So, anyone who is reading this, thanks go out to CedarKuruQan

BTW, I orginally planned to upload more, and I have more down, but I realized what I had written was WAYYY terrible. So here is something small to keep you busy.

Naruto is eighteen

Naruto's Point of View

* * *

I couldn't of been happier to have received training from a man who knew as much as Jack did. I had once commented that he knew everything. I've never asked a question he couldn't answer; no matter how much pain it caused me, or how many people told him I shouldn't know. The first time I had ever killed a man, I had felt nothing. The ninja academy texts spoke of how hard it would be, how some shinobi sought professional help after their first assassination mission. How taxing it would be on my mental health. Yet there I was, sitting there, not feeling guilty, or even the least bit stressed. Confused, I asked Jack a simple question, and his answer was just as simple.

I met Jack at our usual spot, he looked the same as he always did, tall, confident, untouchable. I was only an Inch shorter then him, but that Inch always felt like a mile. Jack had helped me through so much over the years. I have been training under him since I was a small child, only just last week, was I able to win one spar against him. I still remember the pride I felt in that one moment. Of course, he was able to best me the next three spars we had.

As I neared Jack, he had a different look on his face the he usually sported. He also had two small packs resting on the tree next to him. I could tell, we finally going on assignment. I bubbled with pride. Years and years, we had fought with the old man to get a mission. We'd demonstrated our skill, techniques, and teamwork more times then I care to remember, and we had yet to get a mission. So my first question of the day was easy. "What changed?"

The answer I got only brought more questions.

"The Hokage saw our spar yesterday."

"Yeah, I know, what changed?"

"He saw that little stunt you pulled."

"So, wait, the only reason he was holding us off from missions was because I wasn't as good as you?"

"yes." He lips were in a line, as he gazed at me with a stern expression, as if he expected me to know. I was infuriated, it was safe to say me pride was bruised.

"what? So he hasn't given us an assignment in the five years since I made chunnin because I wasn't good enough? That's horseshit Jack, I'm better then any other kid my age, and they've had missions since they were twelve!" As I said this, I realized I had only ever seen three other kids my age in action, and even that was only until they realized I was there. Being a demon container, and apprentice to a foreigner did that to your social life. His response was as honest as I knew it would be.

"You know damn well are missions require a little bit more skill then transporting a document. Speaking of, do you want to know what our mission details are? I guarantee it isn't something as simple as mowing grass. We're killing a men Naruto, not just one man, two, in addition to whoever we have to kill along the way." He under-handed the mission scroll to me, and I snatched it out of the air. My eyes locked on the large red **A **as I pulled open the scroll.

Rank – A

_Issuer – anonymous _

_General mission- Team Fidelis Is to eliminate the targets depicted in the enclosed photo's before three weeks time. Team Fidelis is to do this without being detected_

_Details – The two men enclosed meet at a small enclave every other Monday, the location of which is marked on the map provided._

I couldn't fathom why our first mission was an A rank, at the most, I had expected a low B-rank mission. Though I wasn't about to complain. I did however, have one question.

"what happens if we get caught?"

"Konoha denies ever sending us, claims were missing nin, and then we're either imprisoned for life, or executed."

"oh-ugh. Wow"

Jack gave me his usual smirk and handed me one of the small packs, "you ready to go?"

I took the small pack, and threw it on, smiling like a damn fool. I didn't dignify his question with an answer.

"so, you got the map? And the pictures?"

Then it was Jack's turn to smile like an idiot.

"sure, here, look at them while we walk, we have three weeks to get to all the way to Iwa."

I grabbed the pictures and gazed at the pictures of the men we would kill. They looked overweight, and both sported facial hair, though, in different spots. I followed standard procedure, and gave them each easily memorable nicknames. This would help us remember what they looked like.

"This one is Stache'" I held up the right one "and this one is Tee"

Jack thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Short, simple, too the point. I like it."

And with that, he began walking for the gates; I followed diligently, eyes glued to the map. I moved just behind Jack and slightly to his right side without thinking. He'd drilled so many procedures into my head over the years; it was firmly engrained in my muscle memory.

We talked about nonsense mostly.

"any girls catch your eye?"

"no"

"Huh, you sure? There's tons of hotties in Konoha."

"Yea, show me one who is willing to talk to me."

He sighed. I hated that sigh. It meant he felt sorry for me. So I quickly amended my statement.

"But that Sakura girl had a nice body."

"Ha! You kidding? All the girls in Konoha and you think the psycho pink haired girl is hot?"

Now I was curious, "how do you know that?"

"Every Friday me and Kakashi meet, and he has a new story about something absolutely nuts Sakura did for some kid named Sasuke."

"like what?"

"Team seven is tasked with guarding a V.I.P. to fire country, and as there walking through this cave, a large explosion suddenyl blows up the roof of the freaking cave! Well, Kakashi was struggling to hold up some debris that had fallen over the client they were hired to protect. Sasuke had been thrown when the explosion went off. Sakura looks right at Kakashi, who is still struggling with half of a freaking cave ceiling, and walks off to go check on Sasuke!"

"Oh my god. Wow. She didn't even try to help Kakashi? I can't believe it. How retarded do you have to be? Going to check on someone who is _not_ in any immediate danger, before helping people who are? Not just any people either, but someone you're being paid to protect!" I laughed along with Jack at the idiocy as we walked down a small path. Basking in the carefree atmosphere. We wouldn't need to be cautious until just before we reached the Rock country border.

* * *

First, I want it understood I'm not bashing Sakura. I really don't mind Sakura, even if she can be annoying sometimes.

As always, If anyone wants to Beta, let me know.

And please, don't hesitate to review.


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